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. 2015 May 1;4(2):e45.
doi: 10.2196/resprot.4189.

Use of a Therapeutic, Socially Assistive Pet Robot (PARO) in Improving Mood and Stimulating Social Interaction and Communication for People With Dementia: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Ruby Yu  1 , Elsie Hui, Jenny Lee, Dawn Poon, Ashley Ng, Kitty Sit, Kenny Ip, Fannie Yeung, Martin Wong, Takanori Shibata, Jean Woo
Affiliations

Use of a Therapeutic, Socially Assistive Pet Robot (PARO) in Improving Mood and Stimulating Social Interaction and Communication for People With Dementia: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Ruby Yu et al. JMIR Res Protoc. .

Abstract

Background: Socially assistive robotics is a growing area for geriatric research.

Objective: This single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to investigate the use of PARO, a therapeutic, socially assistive pet robot, in improving mood, and stimulating social interaction and communication for people with dementia in the community.

Methods: For the study, 40 community-dwelling older Chinese adults (≥60 years) with mild to moderate dementia will be recruited and randomly assigned to the PARO therapy group or the psychosocial activities control group. Both treatments consist of six, 30-minute weekly sessions, which will be conducted in a geriatric day hospital. Subjects in both groups will be assessed by a trained research assistant at baseline (pre-), during, and post-treatment. Mood (assessed with a simplified face scale), social interaction, and communication (ie, facial expressions and reactions towards each treatment, assessed with an observation table) will be the primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures will include assessments on cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination) and depressive symptoms (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia), as well as caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Inventory). Subjective impression towards each treatment and qualitative comments from the caregivers, facilitator, and therapists will also be obtained.

Results: Recruitment to the pilot study began in 2014 and the last subject is expected to complete their post-treatment assessment in 2015.

Conclusions: This will be the first RCT using PARO to improve mood, and stimulate social interaction and communication in the care of older people with dementia, as well as provide an evidence basis for the use of PARO in dementia care in Hong Kong.

Trial registration: The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12614000037606; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12614000037606 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Xi7uXdu9).

Keywords: PARO; dementia; elderly; randomized controlled trial; robot-assisted therapy; socially assistive robots.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: Takanori Shibata is the developer of PARO.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PARO, a social robotic seal.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart of the study design. *Indicates the target number of subjects. CDR: Clinical Dementia Rating, CMAI: Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, and MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PARO therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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